Elizabeth Holmes, the former Silicon Valley star sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for fraud, will have to start her sentence on April 27. The application of this sentence comes twenty years after the foundation of his startup Theranos which seduced many investors on a lie.

It’s unclear if Disney+ is preparing a sequel to The Dropout, the miniseries that features the story of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, a startup that turned out to be an empty shell.

There would probably be material to shoot a few more episodes. Last twist, a judge has just rejected the request of the former Silicon Valley icon to remain free pending his appeal trial. The magistrate conceded that Elizabeth Holmes, 39 today, does not present a risk of flight, stressing in particular that she has “two young children”.

She was pregnant in November, when her sentence was announced. The judge nevertheless considered that she had little chance of succeeding in obtaining a radically different verdict, that is to say a sentence of eleven years in prison, where she is expected on April 27.

In January 2022, after a four-month trial, jurors determined that she “lied and cheated” to raise funds, in the words of a prosecutor. Her lawyers said she was never motivated by greed: she could have gotten rich, but she never sold shares, using the money to build her technology.

The fallen star also spoke about her relationship with Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, her ex-COO and partner, saying he kept her under close control at work and at home. He was also convicted of fraud. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison, which he is due to begin this month. He also appealed.

A fortune valued at 4.5 billion dollars in 2014

As a reminder, Theranos promised faster and cheaper diagnostics than those of traditional laboratories. To do this, the company claimed the development of methods presented as revolutionary, allowing multiple tests with a very small amount of blood. Investors were won over.

In 2014, Forbes estimated the fortune of the leader at 4.5 billion dollars. The magazine then described her as the youngest billionaire woman who did not inherit her fortune. The 19-year-old had managed to convince many heavyweight investors, impressed by her eloquence and determination. However, they quickly became disillusioned: the new tools never worked as promised.

The story of Elizabeth Holmes, nicknamed the “feminine Steve Jobs” fascinated the American media. The young woman embodied a certain image of innovative Silicon Valley, before its decline.

“Ms. Holmes‘ misrepresentations to Theranos investors were not just about the technology,” the magistrate said in his decision on Tuesday. She also lied about “the financial situation of the company, the use of devices provided by third parties, the partnership with (the pharmacies) Walgreens and the validation (of the technology) by pharmaceutical companies”.